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Still, heading up to Molly’s room would be a mistake. Another night together would be fun, but he was already hooked. How much harder would it be for him to walk away if they hooked up again? He needed to sever ties so they could get on with their lives.
* * * *
ENERGY AND EXCITEMENTthrummed through Molly, making it impossible to sit still. She plopped on the edge of her bed for all of about two seconds, and then resumed pacing her room. The ambient energy from the concert raced across her skin, and anticipation tingled in her gut. Brandon would be there any minute. She should relax. She was acting like an anxious first-timer.
But her nervous feet wouldn’t listen, carrying her to one side of the room and then the other.
An hour later, the excitement had faded to anxiety, and the adrenaline of the night sat heavy in her stomach. She pushed herself to the top of the bed, rested her back against the headboard, and clicked on the TV. Every time a sound echoed from the hallway, she hitMute. Was that a knock?
Something must have tied him up. Kept him longer than he meant. She should’ve given him her phone number. But that didn’t make sense if he didn’t have a reason to call her after tonight.
The minutes ticked away, and an ache spread through her shoulders and neck. The long week seeped into her bones, tempting her eyelids further down. Almost two hours. Damn it. What had she been thinking? Hurt and frustration flowed through her. She never should’ve gone down that path, taking the free passes. Or maybe her first mistake had been letting him join her for breakfast.
Her eyes drifted shut against her will. He wasn’t going to show up, anyway.
She jerked up with a start at a scratching outside her door. Her gaze flew around the room as she struggled to figure out where she was, and reality sank in when she saw the bright-red numbers on the clock telling her it was a little after five in the morning. The scratching was the staff slipping her check-out statement under the door. She stretched and worked the kinks from her neck.Falling asleep sitting up? Stupidest thing I’ve ever done in a hotel.
And then the rest of the memories rushed back. Of Brandon. Of being stood up. Of letting herself believe there was more to their relationship than a single night. Falling asleep sitting up was only the second stupidest thing she’d done in a hotel.
She pushed out of bed in resignation. Her flight wasn’t until two, but she couldn’t stay in this place a minute longer than she had to. She’d get breakfast somewhere far away, hit up a couple more tourist spots, and crash at the airport for several hours if she had to.
Anything that didn’t require her to be surrounded by memories of a mistake she should have known better than to make. She stripped off her wrinkled silk blouse, jammed that and the clothes from the night before into her suitcase, and grabbed the biggest, most oversized shirt she could find, to change into after her shower.
Half an hour, and she could be gone. She’d put the weekend behind her, and maybe after she threw herself into work for the next week or three, the ache in her chest would finally go away.
Chapter Nine
Brandon stared at theceiling, blinking occasionally, to keep his eyes from feeling so dry. He wouldn’t look at the clock again. It wouldn’t do him any good. It would only be a minute later than the six-fifteen it was last time he looked. Sleep wasn’t happening. Every time he closed his eyes, images of a gorgeous woman with straight black hair taunted him. Even with his eyes open, he felt every inch of her curves pressed against him. Heard her moans. The soft gasps she made when she was about to come.
He pushed out of bed, the sleepless night making him feel careless. Though he was about to do one of the most selfish things he’d ever done, he couldn’t convince himself it was a bad idea. He had to tell Molly how he felt. That despite it only being a couple days, he couldn’t imagine never seeing her again.
He was out of his room before reason could set back in. Hesitation gripped him, as he paused in front of her door. He breathed deep, slid the card into the lock, and pushed inside.
Shit. The comforter was wrinkled but still intact on the bed. The bathroom counter was empty. There were no bags on the floor, no clothes hanging in the closet, and the other key sat on the nightstand.
She was gone.Fuck.
